“No more paperwork!” That’s what founder of Decatur House, Linda Austin says was the best part of turning over the executive reins of the 38-apartment assisted living to her daughter Sarah Tribuzio, who has been serving since 2020 as the Executive Director.
Linda and husband, Steve Austin built the beautiful Decatur House more than 22 years ago, and have personally overseen each and every detail that is critical to the daily operation of a first-class assisted living residence.
While Sarah is now running the day-to-day operations, Steve and Linda are still very much involved and can be found at Decatur House most every day… doing whatever they enjoy the most! Linda loves that she is able to focus more on the socialization of the residents, getting to know and nurture them on a more personal level.
“I love working in the kitchen in the morning and serving the residents’ breakfast. It’s fun and it allows me to provide nourishment. It’s also an eye opener. I get to see how they are feeling physically and mentally on a daily basis and provide assistance where needed,” said Linda.
She is also able to pay deeper attention on the hospice side, which she really loves. “It is a wonderful honor to sit with a person and hold their hand when they pass. Being with families and sharing in that healing transition of passing over, of coming to terms with leaving earth, is meaningful work,” she explained.
Another thing that Linda is enjoying about her new role at Decatur is more time for gardening. “I love gardening. It feeds my soul. It grounds me,” she said. Linda’s passion for gardening is evident in every step you take along the grounds at Decatur House.
Linda is proud of her family business and says that having her daughter, Sarah and Sarah’s children (her grandchildren – Bella who is a CNA, and grandsons Peter and Ollie who help with housekeeping and activities) working together as a team is a great joy.
“Sarah has years of both non-profit and corporate experience. That has never been my strength. She’s already made great strides forming strong community partnerships and getting the computer systems up-to-date. I’m really excited for the future of Decatur under her leadership.”
